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(VNA) The Chairman of the US Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus admitted that discrimination in trade matters is a barrier that should be removed from his country’s commerce with Vietnam , during a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi on Dec. 17. Baucus reiterated his strong support for early granting of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to Vietnam and said he hoped the US president-elect Barack Obama would grant this sooner rather than later. In return, he suggested that Vietnam consider granting permit for the import of beef from cattle more than 30 months old. Baucus also pledged to do his utmost to boost relations between the two countries, especially between the two legislative bodies. He expressed his hope that Prime Minister Dung and president-elect Obama would further deepen bilateral ties in the future, focusing on the economy, trade and investment. PM Dung reaffirmed Vietnam’s unswerving external policy of befriending all nations on the principle of respecting each other’s sovereignty, equality and cooperation for their mutual interest, with the United States no exception. He asked Senator Baucus to support the removal of a US supervision mechanism regarding Vietnamese clothing. This procedure allows the US to examine garment imports from Vietnam once every six months. The US should grant the GSP to Vietnam soon and put an end to its discriminative treatment of catfish imports from Vietnam , in the interests of both nations, the Government leader emphasised. “I wish that the US people and Government would join hands in extending assistance to the Vietnamese people in overcoming the aftermath of the war that still affects the environment and people,” he concluded. Also that day, the US Senator informed reporters of concrete steps to promote bilateral trade. He pointed to the signing of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and Vietnam ’s World Trade Organisation membership as having helped to create favourable conditions for the two countries to boost bilateral trade. He also reiterated his country’s support for Vietnam to gain GSP recognition, which confers trade preferences upon developing countries and is currently being applied to 132 nations around the world. Later that day, he worked alongside Minister of Industry and Trade, Vu Huy Hoang and Deputy Minister of Education and Training Banh Tien Long. Baucus also held discussions with students from the Foreign Affairs Institute regarding concrete measures that could be taken to boost relations between the two countries ./.